Consumable material management system and method

ABSTRACT

In a device  1  which uses consumable material, an electronic device  24  is attached to the packaging  20  of the consumable which stores information about the consumable, and the quantity remaining in the packaging. The device is thus capable of reading such information and updating it by decrementing a counter of the electronic device  24  and optionally responding accordingly, i.e. if the wrong type of consumable is used.

This invention relates to the application of electronic data storagemeans to packaging for a consumable material. In particular it providesa method and apparatus for processing a consumable material, a packagingfor consumable material for use therein, and a kit of parts forapparatus to convert it to embody this invention.

Many devices utilise materials which are consumable and must be replacedwhen the supply runs out. In many instances, the quality, type, colour,size etc of the material must not be changed inadvertently, in that insome cases the type of consumable can be changed if the device isadapted accordingly. If this specification of the material is allowed tochange such as by using the wrong type of material, the device which isutilising it may be damaged or the end product produced by the devicemay be defective. The onus is therefore on the user to ensure that thenew material meets the appropriate specification. A further problem isthe availability of inferior quality substitutes for consumablematerial. Such material may be represented as a suitable replacement fora particular consumable, but may be of an inferior quality to thatspecified by the manufacturer of the device on which it is to be used.

A further problem with the supply of consumable material is that thepackaging, in which the material is supplied, often hides the quantityof material which remains. Also, when the material has been insertedinto the device in which it is to be used it may be difficult to gainaccess to monitor the amount of material remaining. Therefore, the usermay be unaware that the material is running low until the device beginsto malfunction because the consumable material is exhausted.

Various prior attempts have been made to monitor the matching ofconsumables with a machine on which they are to be used. For example,GB-A-2216437 discloses a toner cartridge having means for indicating thetype of toner stored therein, and this can be used to prevent themixing, with the residual toner already in the consuming machine, of adifferent kind of toner from a fresh cassette. The monitoring iseffected by various possible means such as reflecting pads, a magneticmaterial, or an electrical resistance, indicative of the type of tonerin the packaging. GB-A-2257093 discloses a laser printer on which thetoner cartridge has a memory which can be read by the printer, so thatunless the appropriate cartridge is inserted in the cartridge-receivingslot the laser cannot be activated. This prevents the possibility of anengineer, carrying out maintenance work, being damaged by exposure tothe laser emission when either no cartridge is present in the tonercartridge slot or the presence of an incorrect cartridge in the slot mayallow leakage of the laser emission to the exterior.

It is also known to monitor the presence of consumables, for example inEP-A-0653307 where a sensor monitors if a sheet of paper has beensupplied and will stop a printer if no sheet is detected, and in U.S.Pat. No 4,141,646 where a light emitter and detector are present tosense the concentration of developing liquid in the storage reservoir.However, these systems monitoring the consumable are simply there todetect current operating parameters regarding consumables rather thanindicating the expected further useful life of the consumable supply.

It is an aim of the present invention to overcome these problems byproviding a means of packaging consumable material to provideinformation about the status of the material in the packaging.

Therefore, according to one aspect of the present invention there isprovided a processing apparatus including a package for a consumablematerial which is utilised therein, the apparatus comprising:

utilisation means for using said consumable material;

control means for controlling operation of said apparatus; and

holder means for the package containing said consumable material,characterised in that

said holder means is provided with electrical contacts connected to saidcontrol means;

said holder contacts are connectable to corresponding contacts on saidpackage;

said package contacts are connected to an electronic memory means insaid package for providing data indicative of the status of theconsumable material; wherein said control means is operative tointerrupt normal operation of said utilisation means in the absence ofexpected status data, and said electronic memory means includes adecrement only counter to be decremented by the control means as theutilisation means uses the consumable. For example, in the case of astencil duplicator, where the consumable material is stencil master, themaster feed means may be interrupted or the mode of operation (i.e.photo quality or text quality which differ in that photo-qualityincludes pixel dropping giving reduced image quality) may be restrictedto one particular mode.

The status data may be the quantity remaining and may be updated by thecontrol system as the consumable material is used to provide a record inthe electronic means of the amount of consumable remaining in thepackaging. The apparatus therefore preferably comprises monitoring meansfor providing information about the amount of material being used toallow the control system to update the status data provided by saidelectronic means in the packaging.

In the event that the apparatus is operating but the monitoring meansdoes not detect the usage of consumable material, then the control meanswill preferably interrupt normal operation of the apparatus. Forexample, again referring to a stencil duplicator, it may be possible forthe user to deliberately disable the monitoring means in an attempt toovercome the features of the system. Thus if the system expects ink tobe used, and thus expects the pump to pump, and such pumping is notdetected within a certain number of copies for example, the pump can bedisabled.

The present invention is particularly suited for use in copying andprinting devices such as stencil duplicators where both ink and stencilmaster material are used-up during the printing process. In this case,the utilisation means may include (i) ink; pumping means for pumping theink from the packaging means, or (ii) a stencil master feed meanscontrolling the supply of stencil masters. In this way, the controlmeans can interrupt normal operation of the duplicator by inhibiting theink pumping means or the stencil master feed means. Where the duplicatoris provided with means for selecting one of a plurality of differentprinting modes of which one is a photo mode, it may be advantageous torestrict the user's choice of such printing modes e.g. to the photo modeprinting only.

A second aspect of the invention provides the kit of parts defined inclaim 13.

Yet a further aspect of the invention provides the kit of parts definedin claim 14.

A fourth aspect of the invention provides a method as defined in claim15.

In order that the present invention may more readily be understood, thefollowing description is given, by way of example, with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partially cut away view of a stencil duplicator according tothe present embodiment;

FIGS. 2a to 2 d show an ink supply box for use with the apparatusaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the duplicator system;

FIG. 4 shows a detailed schematic diagram of the control system for thepresent invention;

FIGS. 5A and 5B show a reel of master;

FIG. 6 shows a view of the ink box positioned in the holder which is inthe loading position; and

FIG. 7 shows the stencil master and the receiver for the connector tothe electronic means.

FIG. 1 shows a “copy printer” comprising a stencil duplicator 1according to an embodiment of the present invention. An original to becopied is fed through a scanning device 2 on the top of the duplicator.A stencil master is produced by the unwinding of an appropriate sectionof master material 3 from a master reel 4, past a cutting head forproducing holes in the polyester film layer of the stencil mastercorresponding to the image on the original. The advancing stencil masteris then rolled around a printing drum 5 in readiness for printing. Onceprinting begins, paper 6 is fed from a paper feed tray 7 into themachine and then passed by the printing drum 5. Ink for the printingprocess is provided in a “wine box” type packaging 20 (see FIG. 2). Theink supply packaging 20 includes a housing 21, a bag 22 for housing theink, and a nozzle arrangement 23 for extracting the ink.

Referring again to FIG. 1, an ink pump pumps the ink from the ink supply20, to the drum 5 which has a porous outer surface. The ink is driventhrough the porous outer surface of the drum and through the holes cutin the stencil to form an image on the paper 6 pressed against therotating drum surface.

When the ink supply is exhausted, the entire ink container 20 is removedfrom the printer and replaced with a similar ink package. In order toavoid variations in the quality of the printing produced, or indeeddamaging the duplicator itself, it is important to ensure that thereplacement ink is of a similar kind to that which it is replacing. Forexample if a different coloured ink was accidentally inserted, it maytake several hundred copies before the old ink is flushed through thesystem consequently wasting large amounts of ink and paper. Also if thewrong type of ink is used, then it may be necessary to replace the drumor have the drum cleaned, again, resulting in waste of ink andpotentially the expense of having to replace or clean the drum.

With the kind of packaging used with the machine, it is difficult toascertain how much ink remains inside the packaging. Therefore the userwill only know that the ink has run out when the ink container is emptyand either the detector shuts down the machine when the ink quantity inthe drum fails to recover in response to an ink demand signal, or in amore simple machine the printing continues but print quality isseriously degraded. This can be particularly important when theduplicator is being used to print documents in different colours on aregular basis, requiring the ink container 20 and the drum 5 to beremoved and exchanged between each colour printing, such that the usermay come to start printing and only then discover that the ink container20 is empty.

The stencil masters used in duplicators are only usable once and aretherefore eventually used up by the machine. Again, it is difficult tojudge accurately the amount of master remaining on a reel. It is onlywhen the last master is removed that the user will know that the reel ofmaster must be changed. Furthermore the reel of masters is containedwithin the body of the duplicator and is not visible unless the useropens the covers of the machine to check. It is also important to ensurethat the correct type of master is used for a given application.

In order to overcome these problems the present invention utiliseselectronic devices similar to those currently used on “smart cards”.These devices, referred to herein as “smart chips” (such as the SiemensSLE4406 and the Philips PCF 7960) can be used to store data on themrelating to the package to which they are attached. In this case thevarious details regarding the specification of the ink or stencil mastercan be recorded, such as colour, type, quality, quantity, “use by” date,etc., to be read by the duplicator when the packaging (4,20) is insertedinto the duplicator. Thus if the duplicator detects that the wrongcoloured ink or wrong type of master material has been inserted, it cansound an audible alarm to warn the user. Further the device can also beused to provide a counter which can be decremented in use, to act as a“fuel gauge” indicating the amount of remaining ink in the ink packaging20 or master 3 on the master roll 4.

For ease of use, it is desirable to provide these smart chips on thepackaging such that when the packaging is inserted into the duplicatorin the usual manner, the smart chip is simultaneously connected to thecontroller in the duplicator. This avoids the need for the user toseparately connect the smart chip to the controller, simplifying theiruse and avoiding problems should the user forget to connect up the smartchip. The method of mounting the smart chip on the packaging will varydepending on the manner of the packaging itself.

In the case of the ink packaging 20, one of the smart chips is mountedon a flange 25 (FIGS. 2A to 2D) which extends from the nozzle 23 of theink container 20. The smart chip 24 is attached to a substrate such as aPCB 27 or the like which is provided with edge connectors 26 mounted onthe edge of the flange for connecting to the duplicator when the inkcontainer 20 is in position on the duplicator (see FIG. 6). The inkcontainer 20 is held in a holder 8 in the duplicator which accuratelylocates the ink container in a fixed position by sliding leftwardly toconnect the nozzle 23 to an ink pump inlet as the holder 8 is closed. Asthe ink container is inserted into the holder 8, the edge connectors 26engage in a connector 60 provided in the holder 8 connecting theduplicator to the smart chip 24 device on the container. The duplicatorcan then read the appropriate data from the smart chip and alsodecrement the fuel gauge counter in the chip of the ink container as theink is used.

As shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B and 7, the reel of master 4 is provided withsubstantially circular engaging lugs 51 on the end caps 52, on the endof each roll. Each of these lugs is pushed into a receiving portion 53in the duplicator. One of the lugs 51 is provided with an extension 54,to the end of which is attached a smart chip 50, again mounted on asubstrate such as a PCB 55. As the master reel 4 is inserted into theduplicator, the lugs 51 engage the receiving portions 53 and the PCBsubstrate is simultaneously guided into a socket 70 (see FIG. 7). ThePCB is provided with edge connectors 56 which engage with correspondingconnectors in the socket 70. The duplicator can then read the data fromthe smart chip 50 and correspondingly decrement the counter of thestencil roll chip as the stencil master is used up.

Clearly these methods of mounting the smart chips are not intended asthe only construction. The primary requirements are that the smart chipremains firmly attached to the packaging and the packaging has thecontacts connected to the smart chip, positioned and arranged, so thatthey positively engage the corresponding contacts on the duplicator (orother utilisation means). One alternative would be to form the nozzlesuch that the chip is retained in the wall and perhaps with contacts onthe neck of the nozzle.

The duplicator is provided with an ink pump monitoring means 9 whichgives an indication of the rate at which ink is being pumped out of thecontainer and into the drum 5. This information is passed to a controlboard 10, in this case provided in the conventional duplicator.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic overview of the duplicator apparatus accordingto the present invention. This shows a duplicator 1 having a controlsystem which receives information from the smart chips on the consumableused in the duplicator. FIG. 3 shows connections to the ink packaging 20and the stencil master carrier 4. The control system reads datatherefrom and if the data is inappropriate, for example the inkcartridge is empty or the wrong type of master has been inserted, thecontrol system switches the duplicator into a protected mode whereby analarm such as a warning tone may be provided to the user via the usercontrol, the ink pump may be prevented from working or alternatively theduplicator may be prevented from operating at all.

FIG. 4 shows a more detailed schematic diagram of the operationalcontrol system used in a duplicator according to the present invention.The control system includes interfaces 40 allowing data to betransferred between the control means and the smart chip on the inkpackaging and stencil master roll. Whenever a new ink cartridge orstencil master roll is inserted into the duplicator, the data alreadystored in the smart chip is read into the control device via theinterfaces 40. The data retrieved is then compared with the currentsystem status to ensure that the ink or master is compatible and thatthe fuel gauge does not read zero, i.e. there is ink or masterremaining.

The inking drum 5 is in this case provided with identification means toidentify its type and the color of ink for which is to be used. Thisidentification means may be in the form of a simple electrical contactpad or may also include a smart chip device. The controller 10 checksthat the size and design of the drum corresponds to the stencil masterthat is inserted and also that the colour and type of ink is appropriateto the color and type allocated to the drum.

Once the controller has completed these checks of the consumable, thenthe user can start using the duplicator. During operation of theduplicator, ink in the drum is used up as it is passed through theporous outer wall onto the paper. Ink is pumped from the ink supply intothe drum by an ink pump. The ink detection PCE 41 monitors the amount ofink in the drum using a level detector, connected via a connector 11,and when it falls below a predetermined level sends a signal to thecontrol means. The control means then outputs a signal to the ink pumpto initiate pumping. The ink pump which in this example is areciprocating cylinder type, pumps ink from the ink container into theinking drum 5. Each cycle of the pump is monitored by an ink pump strokedetector 9 which provides signals which are again fed back to thecontrol means by a interface 42. The control unit then decrements thecounter in the smart chip 24 on the ink container.

The control means also monitors the operation of the duplicator to checkif the ink pump is activated but no such pump action is being detectedby the ink pump stroke detector 9. This may occur if the pump has failedor if the detector is jammed in one position. Under these circumstances,the duplicator switches to a protected mode as described below.

Similarly each time a new master is produced by the duplicator, thecontrol means 10 decrements the counter in the master smart chip 50.

This provides a record of the amount of ink remaining in the containeror master on the master reel even if the duplicator is turned off or theconsumable in question is removed from the machine.

The control panel also provides additional protection in that if theduplicator detects that the end of a master roll is reached or that anink detector in the drum continues to indicate a low ink state despitethe ink pump being operated, then the respective counter in the mastersmart chip and in the ink container smart chip is set to zero indicativeof the exhausted state.

Once one of the smart chips indicates that the consumable it relates tohas reached the zero level, or if the smart chip provides inappropriateor no data (eg. blue ink instead of black ink, an A3 master instead ofA4 master) then the control means switches the duplicator into operatingin protected mode. In this protected mode, the duplicator may do one ofa number of things:

It may be desirable to prevent operation of the duplicator at all.

Alternatively, the duplicator could be allowed to continue but withlimited function. For example, if an incorrect ink cartridge isinserted, it may still be possible to operate the duplicator using theink remaining in the drum. However, to prevent the newly inserted butincorrect ink being mixed with the residual ink remaining in the drum,the ink pump is inhibited. This will allow the duplicator to operatenormally briefly until the residual ink in the drum is depleted. Thisallows the user to continue to operate the duplicator even though thecorrect ink cartridge may not be immediately available.

Duplicators of this kind often have a choice of duplication modes. Forexample a text mode may be provided for copying text and solid lineimages, and a photo mode may be provided for duplicating images whichhave half tone quality shading. In the photo mode pixels are dropped bythe scanning means 2 to reduce the number of holes produced on thestencil master. This limits the amount of ink transferred to the paperand provides improved contrast for the reproduction of shaded images.The choice of these two modes is usually selected by the user but in theprotected mode, it may be desirable to force the duplicator to work inphoto mode. This will produce only masters of the photo quality. Thishas two effects: firstly the amount of ink used to produce a print ismuch less than in the text quality mode; and secondly, the quality ofimages is slightly poorer than when producing text.

Controller 10 is also provided with an interface which can be connectedto an external PC or to a display incorporated on the user panel toprovide a visual indication of the amount of consumable materialremaining and also information about the status of the machine. Forexample the amount(s) of remaining consumable (ink, master) could beprovided, the status of the consumable e.g. type, quality, size, andwhether or not the consumable is appropriate for operation of the devicei.e. whether or not the device will switch to protected mode in theevent of an attempt to use those consumables.

Although this interface is connected to a PC, a single PC can be used tocontrol a number of duplicating machines. This allows an operator tomonitor the status of several machines simultaneously thus providingeasier control of complex duplicating operations and allowing the userto be rapidly alerted to the occurrence of a problem with any of themachines such as the ink supply being exhausted.

This not only allows a plurality of different duplicating machines to becontrolled by the single PC in order to enable that PC to display theremaining consumable (for example ink and stencil material) of the setof machines, but also facilitates management of the printing supplies ina print room.

For example, if the electronic memory means of the packaging of theconsumable (the ink box or the stencil master roll) is also able torecord an identification of the consumable in question (for example theserial number of a particular ink box or a particular stencil masterroll) then as each newly acquired package of consumable material isbooked into the plant it can be identified and its current status level(presumably full) can be recorded on the stock controlling computer.From then on whenever that particular consumable package is inserted orre-inserted in a duplicating machine the decrementing of the counter inthe electronic means of that packaging will not only (i) result in thepackaging next time giving rise to a correct “current status” valuedetected by the duplicator or other utilisation means involved, but willalso (ii) be capable of being stored on the computerised control systemso that not only those consumable packages which are currently in use,but also those which are in store, may be monitored. This isparticularly advantageous in the case of stencil duplicators where asingle ink colour is run at any one time on a particular duplicator andthere will therefore naturally be spare ink containers on the premisesready for insertion when later that colour is to be printed. In a singleprint room the “alternative colour” ink cartridge may be storedcentrally rather than alongside each particular duplicator (to ensurebetter stock consumption and rotation). Hence the controlling computerwill have a record of not only the ink contents of the cartridgeactually in each duplicator but also the contents of all spare inkcontainers, together with a record of the colour in question, so that anadequate but not excessive reserve of each particular colour can bemaintained and can be monitored on the computer.

More ambitiously, it is possible to arrange for remote location of theor another PC so that the supplier of the ink, stencil material or otherconsumable can be able to update his records regarding the reserve ofconsumable materials at his customers' plants and can automaticallyre-supply in time to avoid total depletion of any particular type ofconsumable at a particular plant.

In this ideal situation the electronic memory means on the package willtherefore record the following data:

(a) the type of consumable (e.g. ink or stencil material);

(b) the unique identity (serial number) of that package;

(c) the remaining count on the decrementing counter means of theelectronic memory means; and

(d) the particular nature of the consumable (the type of stencilmaterial or the colour of ink).

In practice the unique identity serial number and the particular type ofconsumable material may be interrelated, so that the serial number ofthe unique identity of the ink container or stencil material roll willautomatically indicate the particular type of ink (color) or stencilmaterial in question.

Also, in the case of a stencil duplicator the ink screen or duplicatordrum may have its own coding means so that exchange of one ink color toanother without exchanging the ink screen or drum for one using therespective color will give rise to at least an alarm and preferably alsoa disable signal to prevent operation of the duplicator which wouldresult in pollution of the inks.

Although this embodiment relates to a stencil duplicator, clearly thismethod of storing information on the packaging of a consumable can beutilised in any number of applications. It is therefore intended thatthis invention not be limited to stencil duplicators, but may be used ina wide range of other machine types. One such type in the electrostaticphotocopier.

This system may also be fitted to an existing copy printer in the formof a retro-fit kit. The kit would include a control board to interfacewith the existing controller and to provide the new functions, amodified ink level detector PCB, modified holder mounting for the inkpackage, modifier receiving portion for holding the master reel, pumpmonitoring means, optional serial interface connection means andappropriate electrical interconnections. The kit may optionally includea modified drum including a drum identification means and an interfaceand detector for attachment to the duplicator for reading andinterpreting the drum identification means and providing such data tothe control PCB. The purpose of such identification has been explainedabove.

What is claimed is:
 1. A processing apparatus and a consumable materialwhich is utilized therein comprising: a) a plurality of utilizationmeans for using said consumable material said utilization means being astencil duplicator having two or more reproduction quality modes; b) apersonal computer for controlling operation of said apparatus all ofsaid utilization means being connected to said personal computer as acommon control means; c) a package for containing said consumablematerial; d) holder means for said package, said holder means beingprovided with electrical contacts connected to corresponding contacts onsaid package; e) an electronic memory means in said package connected tosaid package contacts for providing data indicative of the status of theconsumable material; f) said control means being operative to interruptnormal operation of said utilization means in the absence of expectedstatus data; and, g) said electronic memory means including a counter tobe decremented by the control means as the utilization means uses theconsumable material wherein said control means switches the reproductionquality to a minimum level after said interruption of normal operation.2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the consumable material isa supply of stencil masters and wherein the utilization means includes astencil master feed means.
 3. A package for consumable materialincluding the consumable material, and electronic memory means includinga decrement only counter to be actuated for decrementing to a differentvalue, said package including connection means for connecting saidelectronic memory means to an apparatus according to claim 1, fordecrementing of the counter by apparatus.